Now Commenting On:

Catcher Moore pain-free in wrist

Catcher Moore pain-free in wrist

Adam Moore

By
/
|

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Catcher Adam Moore, on the 15-day disabled list with a broken bone in his right wrist, has played in Minor League games the past three days and will open the season Thursday with Triple-A Tacoma.

Moore, 27, missed three weeks of Spring Training after getting hit in the back of his hand while blocking a ball in the dirt and was placed on the DL when the team needed to get its roster down to 28 players for the Opening Series in Japan.

He's unable to be used in Cactus League games while on the DL, but can play Minor League games. The Mariners wasted no time getting him back into action after he was cleared by Dr. Edward Khalfayan.

"I knew I couldn't play in the Cactus League games, so I came in Saturday at 10 a.m. to see Khalfayan, thinking I was going to see him and go home," Moore said. "And they said, 'You're playing at 10:30 [in a Minor League game with the Triple-A club]. So I strapped it on and went out there with about 20 minutes to prepare."

So far, so good, said Moore, who will be eligible to come off the DL on April 9.

"My hand feels great. No soreness, no pain," he said. "As far as hitting, I'm finally getting the timing back. At the point of contact, that's where it was hurting and when you make that [twisting] move out of the zone. But now it's good to go."

The hardest part, he said, was being in the Mariners' clubhouse with nobody else around except for injured center fielder Franklin Gutierrez while the team was in Japan for eight days.

"That was tough. Me and Guti were just in there losing our minds, rehabbing with nobody else here," he said. "You just go out on the field and see nobody."

Moore expects to be in the lineup when the Rainiers open their season Thursday in Tacoma, with the plan to have him catch the first game and then work at designated hitter on Friday as he works his way back.

He'd gone 4-for-6 with a home run, double, four runs and three RBIs in his first three Cactus League games before getting hurt.